The present invention relates in general to a modular liquid-metal magneto-hydrodynamic (LMMHD) power generation cell, and more particularly, to a LMMHD power generation cell that converts an applied mechanical power supplied by very strong, but slow moving forces such as ocean waves, into usable electric power.
The ocean waves have historically been considered a potential source of useful energy. Numerous attempts and researches have been made to extract power from ocean waves. For example, a seawater-based magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) generator for generating electricity from the heave motion of ocean waves has been proposed and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,136,173. The MHD generator includes a power generator placed well below the ocean surface and connected to a bobbing surface float via a rigid rod. The motion of the seawater across an applied magnetic field produces electricity. An advantage for such an approach is that there are no moving parts, or at least, not any part moved relative to the main body of the power generator. However, as the seawater used as the MHD interaction fluid is not nearly conductive enough to generate any reasonably-attainable magnetic field strengths, inefficiency becomes a major problem of the generator.